


‘Til Death Do Us Part

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2019-07-20 16:52:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16141469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Ciel has to deal with the aftermath of escaping the contract and Sebastian’s demise.





	‘Til Death Do Us Part

Ever the one for a good game of chess, Ciel ever increasingly gave Sebastian more and more busy work, using the time apart to discreetly send messages to a few people who were experts in their own magical fields to see if they could help rid him of his little… _problem_.

After months of fruitless searching, a miniature decorative chest arrived for him on his birthday.

Bowing, Sebastian left the room.

Ciel knew this particular design had a hollow lid – his heart raced as a little slip of paper fell out.

Filled with seemingly random Greek letters, Ciel knew it was a cipher. He tirelessly worked on the probabilities of corresponding letters in his spare time.

With a grin, Ciel exhaled. He finally did it, even though he couldn’t be absolutely sure since it was rather odd. Still, it was a good guess.

_The demon dissolves when salamander oil is applied to the head._

Salamander oil? He’d never heard of that. Was it even possible to obtain such a thing? Could he even leave the place without raising Sebastian’s suspicions?

Perhaps a passing circus would have exotic animals? Or perhaps a gypsy gathering? Or an occult store?

At least it was a concrete step in the right direction. Ciel resigned to biding his time.

~~

“Sebastian, I wish to browse the town. There is a festival soon.”

“Very good, my Lord,” Sebastian said, bowing and readying Ciel’s warm clothes.

There was quite a crowd, perfect for cover. “I wish to have some fairy floss,” Ciel stated.

“Yes, my Lord,” Sebastian replied. “Please don’t wander too far.”

Seizing his chance, Ciel ducked into a dusty shop, seeing a wizened woman in the corner. “Do you have any salamander oil?”

“Why, yes…” she replied, slowly getting up.

“You must hurry!” Ciel said urgently.

She looked offended by his attitude, but fetched the item anyway. “Now we must discuss the price…”

Ciel glanced out the door to see Sebastian standing across the street, looking suspicious. Ciel quickly grabbed a wad of notes and shoved it in her direction. “Is this enough for the oil and this model ship?”

“Well…” she said, knowing it was, but not wanting to give way to this young upstart.

“Please!” he begged. “If you don’t sell it to me, he’ll kill you! He’ll kill us both!”

The woman glanced out the door, alarmed.

Without waiting for a reply, Ciel grabbed the oil and hid it, and took the ship.

“Ah, just in time, Sebastian,” he said brightly, grabbing the fairy floss off him. “And I’ve just struck a bargain for this delightful model ship.”

Sebastian didn’t seem to be paying attention, staring at the woman. The woman seemed to sense what he was, and grabbed her cross, tense.

“Come, we must leave!” Ciel said, clapping his hands. “There is plenty more to see!”

Sebastian wordlessly followed him, obeying him.

~~

Sebastian walked into the library where Ciel was, angry.

Ciel almost laughed. The demon had an uncanny perception of when something was being plotted. It wasn’t over yet.

Sebastian started pacing in an arc around Ciel.

Ciel smiled. “I suppose there’s no point in pretense.”

Sebastian’s demeanour didn’t change at all as Ciel produced a small vial. Damn, the demon was good.

“Come here. That’s an order.”

In an instant, Sebastian rushed towards him with a growl, grabbing the vial off him.

With a triumphant smirk, he looked at Ciel. To his horror, Ciel revealed a second vial and poured a few drops on Sebastian’s head.

Sebastian staggered back, clutching his hair, eventually collapsing on the ground. His body started to dissolve into ethereal black streams.

Ciel stood watching as his problems began to _melt_ away.

“I must return to the subtler realms to restore myself,” Sebastian hissed in anguish. “You win this round… _Ciel_.”

Ciel remained silent, watching the scene unfold. More generous emotions were starting to well up inside him from his victory, but the constant pressure of survival and the game of chess was still dominant.

With a final cry, Sebastian disappeared, along with the marking in Ciel’s right eye.

Ciel clutched his heart, letting the tears flow. To his surprise, he felt like a part of himself was missing. Had Sebastian really meant that much to him? He felt like a loyal dog, at times – and in a _good_ way.

Ciel silently admonished himself for not saying anything in the final seconds they had together. He could’ve at least thanked him for what he had done to help now that he was safe. In a way, Sebastian was only doing what he was supposed to do. It wasn’t personal. Demons ate souls. That’s the way it was.

Collapsing against the wall, he sunk to the ground. Now, more than ever, he knew his thoughts would always be of Sebastian. He knew his days would be filled with reminiscing of all the things that Sebastian had done for him that _weren’t_ covered by the contract. Could his taunting be considered playful? What about the extra finesse he’d used to obey orders, and even putting his life on the line in order to protect his master from the grim reapers…

“Instead of nothing, you give me hell, you damn demon,” Ciel said softly.

He knew he’d get no sleep tonight.

Perhaps not any other night, either.

~~

Ciel knocked on the lavish door.

Claude opened it with a flourish. “Earl of Phantomhive. How unexpected. I shall go see if the young master is available.”

“Actually, I want to talk to _you_ ,” Ciel said.

Claude looked surprised but motioned for him to come in, shutting the door behind them.  

“What do you want?” he asked brusquely.

“I want to know how to summon Sebastian.”

“Why on earth would you want to know that?” Claude replied, observing the lack of pentagram on Ciel’s eye.

“I think he might be dying, or ill… I just want to know,” Ciel said quietly. “Even though losing my family was harsh, for some reason, now _he’s_ gone, I feel it’s impossible for me to ever smile again.”

“It takes a lot to kill a demon… what makes you think he’s so unwell?”

“I put… oil of salamander on him.”

Claude’s eyes widened. “He’s pathetic.”

“Don’t call him that!” Ciel retorted, eyes flashing. “He put up a valiant struggle.”

“My, how easily fooled you are,” Claude admonished. “Trust me when I say _that_ would never harm a demon.”

Ciel blinked, not sure what to believe.

“If you want to see Sebastian again, kill yourself,” Claude stated. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have duties to which I must attend.”

~~

Ciel gazed at the ritual knife in his grasp. For some reason, he didn’t care if it didn’t work. Or maybe it will only work if he _did_ die.

“Well, Sebastian, you need a soul to be summoned… even if I see you only for a moment before I die, it will be worth it.” With that, he raised the knife above his chest with both hands and plunged it down.

The knife was stopped a millimetre from his skin by a dark demonic claw.

“What the hell are you doing, Ciel?” Sebastian demanded in his semi-human form, fully healed.

“I… just wanted to see you,” Ciel replied in a small voice.

“I’ll let you in on a little secret, Ciel… _I’m a demon_ ,” Sebastian hissed. “I’m not exactly good for you.”

“Don’t you ever leave me again! That’s an order!” shouted Ciel desperately, tears welling.

“You do realise that I’m under no obligation to obey you now that the contract is dissolved?”

“I don’t care!”

Sebastian let out a puff of air, cocking his head. “Well, I must say, it’s good to be back,” he said, smiling. Ciel had never seen him give a genuine smile before.

Still frustrated by his previous deception, Ciel took out the bottle of salamander oil and threw the remaining contents on him. Sebastian gasped and fell to the ground, body convulsing and eyes rolling back.

Ciel nudged him with his foot. “If you don’t cut the crap, I’m going to take those ultra-fashionable boots off you and replace them with bunny slippers.”

Sebastian’s eyes immediately darted to his, and he sat up, smirking.

Embracing Ciel, he whispered “You know, there was a reason I chose salamander oil – it’s really great for keeping my hair nice and shiny.”

“You bloody evil mastermind,” Ciel muttered, holding him tightly.


End file.
